Early Childhood Intervention Programs Research Articles

Autismo: a educação infantil como cenário de intervenção

Nas últimas décadas, a eficácia dos programas de intervenção, em autistas, na primeira infância, se constitui objeto de pesquisa amplamente investigado. Os pressupostos teóricos da neuroplasticidade e abordagens desenvolvimentistas são factuais quanto à importância do tratamento precoce e intensivo para essa população. Nessa perspectiva, estudos indicam a necessidade de serem incluídas crianças, antes dos cinco anos de idade, em programas de intervenção com carga-horária de, no mínimo, 25 horas semanais. No caso, o ensino infantil é um segmento educacional altamente promissor, na implementação de práticas interventivas focadas nesse contingente infantil. Além de atender alunos de 0 a 5 anos, em regime de horário integral ou parcial, o ensino infantil tem como propósito promover o desenvolvimento integral do educando, contemplando aspectos físicos, psicológicos, intelectuais e sociais. O presente artigo tem como objetivo descrever os fundamentos da intervenção precoce, com ênfase nas melhores práticas interventivas, direcionadas para populações com autismo. Como complemento, discute-se a relevância dessa modalidade de atendimento no contexto nacional da educação infantil.

Teacher goals in an early intervention program for children with hearing loss

This study aims to describe the content of a natural auditory-oral early intervention program and to investigate the goals of the teachers who work in the program. The study was designed as an action research. Two teachers of the deaf and six families and their children were the subjects of the study. The data were collected through video recordings, teachers’ reflective journals, children’s educational files, and by family interviews, and analyzed holistically after a period of five months. The results of the study indicated that the teachers had goals for both the children and for the families. They focused on the development of listening skills, production of speech sounds, and meaningful use of the words and sound imitations while working with the children. Moreover, they encouraged the parents to interact with their child and attempted to improve their interaction skills. To achieve the goals, they modeled certain language facilitating techniques with the children, they observed the parents while they interacted with their children, and provided suggestions, depending on their observations. They used different types of play as a learning context during the sessions. Parents reported that they learned “how” to interact with their children and stated that the intervention improved their child rearing practices positively. All children involved in the study produced some single words and two children started to use simple two word combinations at the end of the data collection period. © 2013 European Journal of Research on Education by IASSR.

Psychometric properties of the Arabic Family Support Scale for families of children and youth with cerebral palsy in Jordan

Background Knowledge about family support systems available for Jordanian families of children with cerebral palsy (CP) is limited due to the lack of culturally valid measures of family support. The psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Family Support Scale (A-FSS) were examined.Methods Parents of 115 children with CP who were receiving services at different settings in Jordan were interviewed using the A-FSS.Results Spouse and professional helpers were rated as the most helpful sources of support, whereas early childhood intervention programs and social groups were the least helpful. A valid structure of the A-FSS was presented for Jordanian families of children with CP with an acceptable level of internal consistency.Conclusions The A-FSS is a valid and reliable measure of family support for Jordanian families of children with CP. Service providers are encouraged to use A-FSS with families to explore options for using sources of support to cope with their children's disability.

Child development in HIV-positive and HIV-affected children in South Africa and Malawi—What role for community organisations?

There is evidence that children who are HIV positive (HIV+) are at risk for poor developmental outcomes. The aims of this study were to use developmental screening tools to measure outcomes of children affected by HIV/AIDS attending community-based organisations (CBO) and to determine what types of CBO provision these children were receiving. In a cross-sectional study, we interviewed 979 children and their carers (4 to 13years) at 28 randomly selected CBOs funded by 11 major donors in South Africa and Malawi. Developmental outcomes were assessed using the Ten Questions childhood disability screening tool and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Health-related quality of life was measured using the Paediatric Quality of Life Scale. Overall, 13.8% (n=135) were HIV+. HIV+ children were more likely to have developmental difficulties and lower health and educational quality of life, controlling for a range of factors. Developmental difficulties and poorer quality of life were predicted by being HIV+, living in South Africa, not attending school regularly, poor housing conditions and living with a sick family member. HIV+ children tended to have been enrolled in CBO programmes for a longer period compared to other children but reported lower rates of contact. A greater proportion of HIV+ children received medical services, psychosocial interventions and emotional support, compared to HIV− children. However, fewer HIV+ children were enrolled in play groups, early childhood intervention programmes and educational programmes. Screening for developmental problems using short tools is possible in community settings in order to identify children with developmental difficulties and plan services for children infected with and affected by HIV. This study highlights the important role of CBOs to intervene to improve child development outcomes. The delivery of evidence-based services that target child development outcomes will enable HIV-infected children to meet their developmental potential and promote their participation in their communities.

Realizing the Promise of Well‐Being: Longitudinal Research from an Effective Early Intervention Program for Substance Exposed Babies and Toddlers Identifies Essential Components

AbstractThe University of Miami Linda Ray Intervention Program (LRIP) is a Part C early intervention program for children under the age of three, with verified developmental delays located in Miami‐Dade County that has established a strong link and referral process from the Juvenile Court as well as local community‐based care agencies. Creating a system where early intervention communicates well with the court system is paramount in changing the well‐being trajectories of these vulnerable children. This article describes the growing need for early intervention services as well as the results of one successful early intervention‐court partnership that has shown promising short and long‐term results for developmentally‐delayed children who were born prenatally exposed to cocaine.

The relationship between sensory processing difficulties and behaviour in children aged 5–9 who are at risk of developing conduct disorder

Behavioural problems in childhood are common, with significant and wide-ranging implications for individuals, families and the community. There is some evidence that sensory processing difficulties are associated with behavioural problems in children with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there has been minimal research into the association between sensory processing difficulties and behavioural problems in the absence of these disorders. The aim of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of sensory processing difficulties in children aged 5 to 9 who have been identified as at risk of developing conduct disorder, and to examine the relationship between sensory processing difficulties and behavioural problems. Participants were children aged 5 to 9 selected to participate in an early intervention program for children at risk of developing conduct disorder. Behaviour problems were assessed using the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory (ECBI; Eyberg and Robinson 1983) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman 1997). Sensory processing was assessed using the parent-reported Short Sensory Profile (SSP; McIntosh et al. 1999). Sensory processing difficulties were identified in 55.2%, which is higher than the estimated prevalence in the community (5.3–13.7%). Significant correlations were found between sensory processing difficulties and severity of behavioural problems. Using multiple regression analysis, sensory processing difficulties made a significant unique contribution to behavioural problems, and contributed more to the model than did other variables – language difficulties and socio-economic status. Notwithstanding the need for further research, these findings suggest that sensory processing should be considered in the assessment and management of children with behaviour problems.

Parents' reports of their involvement in an Iranian parent-based early intervention programme for children with ASD

Based on the findings of several preliminary studies on support and services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents in Iran, an early intervention programme called Omid was established. This programme is based on the social model of disability. To promote the Omid resource kit, which is a component of the ‘Omid Early Intervention Programme’, a group of Iranian parents (N = 39) of children with ASD at the first stage of diagnosis were recruited to ascertain their thoughts on parental engagement in the intervention programme. Parents' thoughts about the resource kit, the parent workshop and the professional visit at home were collected through notes which the parents presented to the researchers. Thematic analysis of the notes and comments showed that parental engagement in the early intervention process through a resource kit was welcomed within a society in which service provision for ASD is sparse and support for children with ASD and their parents is lacking.

Early Childhood Health and Education Outcomes and Children's Exposure to Multiple Risks in Turkey

This paper considers changes in children's early health and education opportunities and outcomes in Turkey. The study aims to look at changes in health utilization, nutrition, access to early childhood education and school enrollment rates for children between 2003 and 2008. The findings suggest that health utilization has improved over time in these years and access to health care has increasingly become delinked from initial circumstances of children in the household, in parallel to Turkey's expansion of the Health Transformation Program. On the other hand, nutrition outcomes remained correlated with maternal education and household wealth status. Access to early childhood education and care programs also came out to be highly regressive, with only households and children in the top quintile having access to child care programs outside the home. The paper also considers later educational attainment outcomes for older children, by circumstance groups and finds that while some progress has been made in enrollment in basic education in these years, variables that define gender, mother tongue spoken at home and parental education remain significant determinants of early drop-outs as of 2008. In the final section, the paper investigates exposure of a certain small group of children in Turkey to multiple risk factors at the same time, and evaluates the incidence by circumstance group the probability of facing overlapping risks in early childhood. the paper argues that children in these circumstance groups, and that have exposure to multiple risk factors, should be the primary target of social protection and early childhood intervention programs.

Experiences of housing insecurity among participants of an early childhood intervention programme

To understand the barriers to programme success among high-needs families in KidsFirst, an early childhood intervention programme. Using a qualitative approach, a secondary analysis was performed using the qualitative data set (111 interviews and focus groups with 242 participants) from the KidsFirst programme evaluation. Data analysis was conducted to identify common experiences among high-needs families in the programme and barriers to programme success. Participants identified housing insecurity as a major factor impeding programme delivery, retention and successful outcomes. Housing insecurity was shown to create or exacerbate ongoing crises among high-needs families. Only after housing insecurity was addressed were families able to benefit from the KidsFirst programme. The findings of this research suggest that until baseline material security is established for high-needs families, early childhood development (ECD) interventions will be limited in meeting their objectives. In order to have the most effect for those living in poverty, helping families to achieve basic material security, including secure housing, should precede the targeted provision of psychosocial ECD supports. This finding has implications for how ECD intervention programmes could more effectively be designed and whom they should target.

Uncaging the Caged: Exploring the Impact of Poverty on the Academic Performance of Form Three Learners in Zimbabwe

The relationship between poverty and academic performance of children is far from simple and direct. It is more complicated than just the effects of poverty alone. The Poverty Assessment Study Survey (PASS) conducted by the Government of Zimbabwe in 2006 revealed that AIDS and poverty have reversed progress towards millennium development goals. It is estimated that about seven out of ten families in Zimbabwe live in dire poverty because of political unrest, socio-economic instability, economic and political sanctions and HIV/AIDS, which exacerbates poverty among families. This article examines the impact of poverty on the academic performance of form three learners in two secondary schools in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. The study is informed by Urie Bronfenbrenners' ecological theory. A qualitative phenomenological design was used with focus group discussions, interviews and observations as data collection instruments for fifteen (15) children and ten (10) teachers in Masvingo Province. Findings from this study revealed that over seventy percent (70%) of the families in Zimbabwe do not have access to basic human needs (food and non-food items) which are necessary to sustain life thus adversely affecting children's health, intellectual capabilities, academic achievements, emotional, physical, moral and social development. This study recommends early intervention programmes for children, sustainable development of both rural and urban communities and the need to provide food hampers to the affected children.

Serving Educational Pie: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Collaborating with Families

One of the things educators often bemoan is the lack of parental involvement with their students' education. Too often, parent involvement is limited to those situations in which interactions revolve around unpleasant issues such as discipline or other conflicts. Many parents want to become more involved but may lack knowledge or opportunity for more positive engagements. When parents intentionally seek to increase their understanding of their child's academic, developmental, or social needs, it can be a great benefit to the child. Both special education and general education personnel possess a wide range of professional specialties that can positively affect the educational process for all students. When professionals with specialties in various areas collaborate to offer a program that whets the appetites of parents for additional information to assist their children, it gives parents an opportunity they might not find elsewhere. Parents of children with special needs are often riddled with confusion concerning their child's diagnoses and special needs. This heightens their sense of fear, and they may have conflicting feelings about working with school personnel. They may feel suspicious, yet hopeful, that school personnel will be caring people who will meet their child's needs. These things can often make parents appear adversarial toward the very officials who are charged with the responsibility of meeting their child's educational needs and can make building a working relationship difficult. The vast majority of special education children have learning disabilities causing perplexing difficulties for parents in helping their children learn. In addition, some children with special needs, particularly those served in life skills and early childhood intervention programs, have complex medical issues, and their parents have often had a difficult or even heartbreaking journey before encountering school personnel or academic issues. Therefore, anything schools can do to proactively extend an arm of understanding with intentions to engage parents in the educational process may contribute to laying a trusting foundation for future encounters between parents and school personnel (Serres & Nelson, 2011).

Evaluating a Learning Collaborative to Implement Evidence-Informed Engagement Strategies in Community-Based Services for Young Children.

Given dismal attendance rates in community-based care for children and families, it is critical that evidence-informed attendance engagement strategies be implemented within community service systems. There is growing research on effective methods for training in evidence-based practices (EBPs), and one method that shows promise is the learning collaborative modeled after the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series Collaborative framework. This study examines implementation outcomes of a learning collaborative based on the Breakthrough Series Collaborative that was conducted to improve attendance engagement in community-based early childhood intervention programs using evidence-informed strategies. A total of 29 providers from four programs within a large regional hospital participated. Qualitative and quantitative data collected prior, during, and at the completion of the 9-month learning collaborative as part of a process evaluation. Data were analyzed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, adoption and fidelity, and planned sustainability of strategies to facilitate attendance engagement as a result of the learning collaborative. Results indicate that: (1) using a learning collaborative implementation method with early intervention providers was feasible; (2) the method was acceptable based on perceived improvements in attendance and a significant increase in attitudes towards EBPs; (3) the method supported successful self-reported adoption and fidelity of engagement strategies; and (4) the method facilitated planned sustainability of practice changes. The learning collaborative can be a useful implementation strategy within early childhood intervention programs to promote the use of EBPs, including enhancing attendance engagement through evidence-informed strategies.

Does mobilisation increase family engagement with an early childhood intervention programme? A randomised controlled trial

In this article we compare the effect of two methods of mobilisation – doorstep canvassing and postal appeals – on family attendance at early childhood Sure Start centres in England with a sample of 3,444 families. Families who were not already using Sure Start services were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a visit from an outreach worker providing information and encouragement; receipt of a leaflet about Sure Start; and a control group that received the usual service. We found no evidence of a significant difference in Sure Start attendance between the three groups: neither visits nor leaflets were effective in encouraging non-attenders to go to Sure Start.

Early Childhood Interventionists' Perceptions of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: Provider Characteristics and Organizational Climate

Research Findings: A 2003 amendment to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) required states to develop plans to ensure that children younger than the age of 3 years who are victims of substantiated abuse or neglect have access to developmental screenings. Programs authorized under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are the designated providers of developmental screening and intervention services. This study explored the relationship of provider characteristics and organizational climate to the attitudes of early childhood interventionists about CAPTA. Findings indicate that publicly employed early childhood interventionists are generally willing to serve children referred from child welfare under CAPTA. Older workers are perhaps a little more skeptical about Part C's responsibilities under CAPTA. Regression analysis found that a positive organizational climate is associated with more positive perceptions of these responsibilities. Practice or Policy: When interventionists are viewed in an organizational context, it becomes easier to see how their attitudes and practices reflect systemic influences. Early childhood intervention program administrators should consider initiatives to foster positive work environments. This is especially important when service providers are required to implement new initiatives.

Can Intensive Early Childhood Intervention Programs Eliminate Income-Based Cognitive and Achievement Gaps?

How much of the income-based gaps in cognitive ability and academic achievement could be closed by a two-year, center-based early childhood education intervention? Data from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), which randomly assigned treatment to low birth weight children from both higher- and low-income families between ages one and three, shows much larger impacts among low- than higher-income children. Projecting IHDP impacts to the U.S. population's IQ and achievement trajectories suggests that such a program offered to low-income children would essentially eliminate the income-based gap at age three and between a third and three-quarters of the age-five and age-eight gaps.

Can Intensive Early Childhood Intervention Programs Eliminate Income-Based Cognitive and Achievement Gaps?

How much of the income-based gaps in cognitive ability and academic achievement could be closed by a two-year, center-based early childhood education intervention? Data from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), which randomly assigned treatment to low birth weight children from both higher- and low-income families between ages one and three, shows much larger impacts among low- than higher-income children. Projecting IHDP impacts to the U.S. population's IQ and achievement trajectories suggests that such a program offered to low-income children would essentially eliminate the income-based gap at age three and between a third and three-quarters of the age-five and age-eight gaps.

Can Intensive Early Childhood Intervention Programs Eliminate Income-Based Cognitive and Achievement Gaps?

How much of the income-based gaps in cognitive ability and academic achievement could be closed by a two-year, center-based early childhood education intervention? Data from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), which randomly assigned treatment to low-birth-weight children from both higher- and low-income families between ages one and three, shows much larger impacts among low-than higher-income children. Projecting IHDP impacts to the U.S. population's IQ and achievement trajectories suggests that such a program offered to low-income children would essentially eliminate the income-based gap at age three and between a third and three-quarters of the age five and age eight gaps.

Building social capital as a pathway to success: community development practices of an early childhood intervention program in Canada

In the last three decades, various concepts and strategies have been developed to address social determinants of health. This paper brings together the different focuses of health promotion, and demonstrates that effective health intervention programs need to be conducted at multiple levels and fronts. Specifically, based on the evaluation of KidsFirst, an early childhood intervention program in Saskatchewan, Canada, this paper presents the program practices effective in enhancing the social capital and social cohesion at the community and institutional levels. The findings fall into three interconnected areas: strengthening community fabric; building institutional social capital and bonding, linking and bridging. KidsFirst has brought the community together through conducting broad and targeted community consultations, and developing partnerships and collaborative relationships in an open and transparent manner. It has also developed institutional social capital through hiring locally and encouraging staff to deepen connections with the communities. Additionally, it has endeavoured to create conditions that enable vulnerable families to enhance connectedness among themselves, link them to services and integrate them to the larger community. The program's success, however, depends not only on the program's local practices, but also on the government's central policy framework and commitment. In particular, the program's focus on children's healthy development easily resonated with local communities. Its endorsement of local and intersectoral leadership has facilitated mobilizing community resources and knowledge. Further, its commitment to local ownership of the program and structural flexibility has also determined the extent to which the program could fit into the histories of local communities.

Die besten Absichten zu haben ist notwendig, aber nicht hinreichend – Qualitätsdimensionen in den Frühen Hilfen

Early childhood interventions are a promising strategy to improve the development of children in socially disadvantaged families and to reduce their risk for abuse and neglect. However, proven effects are small with substantial variations between existing programs depending on differences in program planning and implementation. On the basis of international findings on the effectiveness of early childhood intervention, health promotion, and implementation research, we provide an overview of different quality aspects in the development, implementation, and evaluation of early childhood interventions, and a framework for future quality assessment of early childhood intervention programs in Germany. Scaling up of these programs should be accompanied by intensive quality assessment and development in order to achieve the intended outcomes.

Use of the ages and stages questionnaire in young children who are deaf/hard of hearing as a screening for additional disabilities

BackgroundChildren with sensorineural hearing loss have a high rate of additional disabilities beyond those expected by the impact of hearing loss on language and are identified later than children without hearing loss. Identifying these developmental delays and allowing earlier implementation of interventions specific to these concerns would improve care. AimsTo determine whether the Ages and Stages Questionnaire© (ASQ) can identify unmet needs or unidentified developmental delays among young children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. SubjectsFifty children with any degree of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, 6months to 36months of age recruited from a tertiary referral center and regional early intervention programs for children who are deaf/hard of hearing. Outcome measuresThe ASQ and comprehensive developmental evaluations with the Revised Gesell Developmental Schedules. Study designSensitivities and specificities of the ASQ were calculated. ResultsWhile 32% of our population had a developmental delay outside the domain of communication, the ASQ had poor sensitivity on the overall score without the communication domain as well as for fine motor, cognitive, personal–social domains. It had good sensitivity for the domains of communication and gross motor skills and good specificity (ranging 83–85%) on specific domains as well as for the overall score (70%). ConclusionsThe ASQ does not provide an effective mean for identifying additional developmental concerns in young children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Further studies are needed to determine how to identify additional disabilities in a timely manner among young children with hearing loss.